Vehicle-wheel.



:FATENTED OUT. 1906.

J. H, DRAKE.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DE0.19,19074.

. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

m n v 1.15

Not 832,368. VPATENTED OCT. 2, 1906. J. H. DRAKE.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.19,19U4.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2 ful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

UNITED STATES PATENT JAMES HAINES KE, OF MORGAN PARK. ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR or. ONE- FOURTH TO JOSEPH J. SGHERMACK, or CHICAGQJLLINOIS.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 2, 1906.

Application filed December 19, 1904;. Serial No, 237.441.

,Morgan Park, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useand-exact description, referencebeing had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part -of this specification.

.- ;The present invention, while applicable to.

' wheels adapted for'various kinds of vehicles,

,hasmore especially for its object to provide an improved elastic wheel for use in heavy vehicles, such as automobiles, the wheels of which are subjected to severe strains and shocks.

The invention'consists in the features of improvement i hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and

' particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 1s a view in side elevation of a vehicle-wheel embodying my invention. Fig.

2 is a view in vertical section on line 2 of Fig.

1. Fig. 3 is a view in central longitudinal section through a portion of the inner and outer parts of the wheel with the intermedi-' ate parts. Fig. 4 is a detail view in horizontal section, between the inner and outer rims or follies. Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation,

showin my invention as embodied. -in a Wheel esigned for very heavy work. Fig. 6 is a'view in vertical section through a portion of the Wheel shown-in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail view similar to Fig. 3.

The hub portion A of the wheel and the spokes a, projecting therefrom, may be of any usual or suitable construction, the outer ends of the spokes a being secured inusual manneryto the inner rim or felly B, that is preferably formed of wood. Outside this innor rim or felly B and normally concentrictherewith is the larger outer rim or telly C,

that is encircled by the. usual channel portion D, that carries the rubber tire E of the usual or other suitable. construction The inner or felly B is formed with a series of radial holes I), referably flaring inwardly, as shown, and in t e outer ends of. these holes I) are fit- ,ted the metal sockets that will be secured to the-telly B in any convenient way. At .pointsogposite the radial sockets F similar sockets are embedded in seats formed in the outer wooden rim or folly (I, the bores of these sockets G being preferably flared inwardly, as shown. In the sockets G are held in manner free to swing slightly the upper ends of the guide-rods Id, that are preferably flattened, and through these upper ends of the guide-rods H and as Well also through the sockets G and the rim or fully C, pass the retaining-bolts J, that form the pivotal supports for the rods H. Each of the rods H is encircled by a coiled spring K, the ends of these springs K being held within seats formed. in the opposing ends of the respective sockets F and G.

From the construction of parts. thus far defined (which, however does not constitute the present invention) it will be seen that the coiled springs K and the guide-rods H serve to hold the inner and outer rims or fellies B which wheels of this type, and more particularly such as are designed for automobile service, are subjected, I reinforce the inner rim or telly B upon both sides with the metal brace bands or rings B and B", thatare securely bolted to the rim or felly B by the through-bolts or rivets 6 arranged in close proximity around the rim or felly B. In order to enable the bolts or rivets b to perform not merely the function of holding the brace bands or rings in position upon the inner rim or felly, but also to cause these bolts 6 to aid in bracing the sockets F and prevent their working loose, I arrange the bolts or rivets b so as to contact with or approximately contact with the sockets F. Hence any racking strain thrown upon the sockets F will be resisted by the bolts 6 If desired, each of the sockets F may be formed with a peripheral groove or notch in which the adjacent bolts 5 will lie. In like manner I reinforce the outer rim or felly C by metal brace bands or rings C and C that are connected to the rim or felly C by the through-bolts c, disposed around the rim or felly C, as shown. The through-bolts c are arranged immediately next to the sockets G, so that these bolts 0 perform the further function of resisting the radial movement of such bars.

be seen that when the vehicle is suddenly strain that may be thrown upon the sockets, and hence prevent the sockets from working loose. J

I have found with practice-in wheels of the type above described, but which are not provided with the brace bands or rings reinforcing their inner and outer rims or fellies, that the severe lateral strain thrown upon, the wheel, particularly when the vehicle is traversing sharp curves at a high speed, is liable to cause the splitting of the rims or fellies B and'G and more articularly of the inner rim or fiell'y B. This liability, however, is entirely avoided when the rims or fellies B and G are reinforced-by the brace-rings in keepingwitli' my invention.

I have "found that in the use o'f'a Wheel of the above-described type i. e., a wheel having inner'andouter rims or fellies connected by guide-rods and carrying cushioned springs the severe-strainincident to the sudden stoppage of thevehicl'e, and more particularly to the reversal of'its gearing, is apt to strain or break the parts because of the independence of revolution permitted by the connecting -guiderod's. To overcomethis objection and aswelllalso to give greater lateral-strength to the wheel, I have provided stay-bars between the outer and inner rims or fellies, the staybars being connected to the rims or tel-lies, preferably in. the manner next .to be described.

To the outer rim or-felly C and preferably upon its brace ring erband C are bolted or riveted in suitable number the radially-disposed stay-bars P". .The free inner ends of these stay-bars P extend loosely through seats 0* of" a supplementalbrace-ring R, that is bolted to the inner side of the rim or felly B. Preferably the'supplemental brace ring or'band R is formed by offsetting portions of it to form the seats or channels 7*, and these seats or channels preferably flare inward slightly and are sufiiciently larger than the width of the stay-bars P to-permit the free Hence it will checked onits directionoi travelreversed the stay--ba-rs P'Wlllcome into action. and will relieve the guide-rods H frorn'severeshock and strain.

The wheel, as shown in Figs. 5- to oi the drawings, is more especially desi ned for very heavy automobile-work, and t is wheel maybe said toembody the preferred form. of my inventiont- Asin-the construction hereinbefore described, the wheel. comprises inner and outer'rims or follies B- and (3, the outer line 63 being provided with the channel-iron 1D and rubber tire E. The inner and outer rims B a-nd C' are furnished with sockets F and G, between which extend the pivot-rods encircl'ed'by the coiled spring-s Upon each; side of'the inner rim B" arebolted the brace bands or rings Bland B and similarly to the sides of the outer rims orfelly Q are:

scenes bolted the bands or rings C and C The bolts N, that pass through the inner rim, and the bolts 0, that pass through the outer rim or ielly, abut against the sockets F and G,

respectively, as in the construction above described. Instead of providing one side only of the wheel with stay-bars, as in the construction of wheel above described, 1 pro vide stay-bars upon both sides of the wheel. These stay-bars P P are preferably held atthe outer rim by the through-bolts c,

that pass through the outer rim and the race bands or rings C and (3 Upon each side of the inner rim or f'elly B and outside-its brace bands orrings B and B are'bolted the brace bands or rings R and R, that are formed with the seats 7", through which ass the brace-bars P P. The brace ringsand'R are preferably held in place'by bolts-2 that pass through these rings and as" well also through the inner felly and-the brace-ri'ngsat the sides thereof. Preferably the-inner ends of the brace-b are P- I? are connected together by bolts p these bolts passing-throughthe'in ner ends of the brace-bars P P and; through spacing-sleeves p, as clearly shown i'n lli'g'. 601 the drawings. By reference to'Figl 5 it will ,be seen that the bolts 3)? and sleeves p extend in proximity to the sides of the wheel spokes a, andconsequently when any excessive strain is thrown upon the wheel, as-bythe too sudden starting or stoppage oi thema chine, the sleeves p may contact with the sides of tltie spokes a, and thus aidin resisting such excessive strain. It will he' noted that the brace-bars PP" arecl considerablewidthin circumferential direction and that the 5 seats or'eh annals therefor: in. the guides are of slightly --greater width cirumferentialiy; that a certain amount oirelative movement in circumferential direction is permitted be tween the inner and euteriellies but on any excessive relativemovement in cireumferen tial direction of the inner and eutenfellies'the brace-bars would be brought against the ends of the guides torelie-ve the coiled springsaind gblidtkl'GdS H of excessive It will i also lee-noted that the guides r-of'the bracering are of considerable widtlrin'radialdiree tionand that the brace bars Panel: P" fit snugly between theouter faces-of the brains- I rings B and R soas to securely held the inner and outerrirns or felli'es againstanyrelative movement inaxial direction. By this arrangement it is impossible for the outerrim or fell-y to be; thrown'into adiiterent plane from that of the inner rim or telly in: going around curves and the like, so that the 1 connecting guide-bolts and springs between. the felhesare relieved from-all strain in this direction.

It is manifest that the precise details of construction above set out may be varied without departure from the spirit of? the in '-vention and that features ot the invention may b e j i ,II'avmg thus descr bed my inventiomw!rat -.Icl'ai1n, as new; andrdesirc to secure by Letters Patent, it v. Y

I l. In aivehiclefwheelcomprising inner and. 'outer rims or l ellies with. intermediate guiderods, cushioned springs and sockets for such springs, the combination with the outer and 10, inner .rims or fellies, of continuous brace rings or bandssecured to the opposite faces of said. inner and outer rims or fellies.

2. In a 'vehicle wheel comprising inner and outer rims or fellies and intermediate guiderods, coiled springs and sockets for said springs, the combination with the inner and outer rims or fellies, of brace rings or bands secured by through-bolts to the opposite faces of said inner and outer rims or fellies.

3. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and outer rims or follies with intermediate guiderods, cushioned springs and sockets for such springs, the combination with one at least of said. rims or fellies, of brace rings or bands 2 5 secured to the opposite faces of said rim or telly, and through-bolts arranged near said sockets to aid in resisting the strain thrown thereon- 4. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and.

outer rims or fellies, intermediate guide-rods coiled springs and sockets for said springs intermediate between said rims or i'ellies, the combination with the inner and outer rims or follies, of one or more stay-bars rigidly se- 3 5 cured to the side of one o'fsaid rims or fellies and a guide or guides for the free end of said stay bar or bars secured to the side of the other rim or telly, said. guide .or guides having seats or channels of slightlygreater 40 width than said. stay-bars, substantially as described.

5. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and outer rims or fellies and. intermediate guiderods, coiled springs and sockets for said springs, the combination with the inner and outer-rims or fellies, of fiat stay-bars rigidly secured to the side of the outer rim or telly and a stay-ring provided with outwardlyflaring seats or channels of slightly-greater width than said staybars to receive said stay-bars and secured to the side of the inner rim or telly.

6. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and outer rims or fellies, intermediate guide-rods coiled springs and sockets for said springs intermediate between said rims or ieilies, the combination With the inner and outer rims or fellies, of stay-bars secured to the opposite sides of the outer rim or telly, and guides forthe free ends of said stay-bars secured to the opposite sides of the inner rim or telly, said guides having seats or channels of slightlygreater width than said brace-bars, substantially as described.

7. In a Vehicle-Wheel comprising inner and outer rims or iiellies and coiled springs and sockets for said. springs intermediate between said rims or follies, the combination with the inner and outer rims oriellies, of stay-bars rigidly secured at their outer. ends to opposite sides oi the outer rim or telly, guides for the inner ends of said stay-bars secured to the opposite sides oftne inner rim or telly,

and means connecting the inner ends of said stay-bars at points between the spokes of the wheel.

8. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and outer rims or fellies, intermediate guide-rods and coiled springs and sockets for said springs in said rims or fellies, the combination with the inner and outer rims or follies, of a plurality of flat stay-bars, rigidly secured to the side of one of said rims or fellies and overlapping the side of the other of said rims or fellies and flat guides for the free ends of said stay-bars secured. to the side of the other rim or folly, said flat stay-bars and guides co operating to prevent relative movement of the rims or follies in axial direction, but permitting a slight movement thereof in circumferential direction, whereby the guide-rods and springs between the iellies would be relieved of excessive strain, substantially as described. 9. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner an outer rims or tellies, intermediate coiled' springs and guide-rods, and sockets for said springs and guide-rods in said rims or follies, the combination with the inner and outer rims or fellies, oi a'series of flat stay-bars rigidly secured to the opposite sides of the outer rim or folly and a series of flat guides for the inner free ends of said stay-bars secured to the sides of the inner rim or telly, said staybars fitting snugly within said guides to hold said rims or follies against relative movement in axial direction, but said guides having sea ts or channels of slightly-greater width than said stay-b ars to permit a slight relative movement between said rims and follies in circumferential direction, substantially as described.

10. In a vehicle-wheel comprising inner and outer rims or 'l ellies, intermediate guiderods and coiled springs and sockets for said stantially as described.

11. In vehicle-Wheel comprisinginner and outer 111118 or iellies, intermediate guiderods and coded springs and sockets for said 1 springs and guide-rods in said rims or fellies,

the combination with the inner and outer rims oriellies, of brace-bands secured to the opposite sides of said runs or fellies, 'su plemental bands, secured to the sides of said 1 inner rim oi felly and having oiiset portions forming guides, and a series of fiat stay-bars a rigidly secured to the opposite sides of said outer rim or felly andprojeoting inwardly therefrom, the inner free ends of said stay-b ars engaging offset guide portions of said supples mentalbands and fitting snugly between said bands and the brace-bandsseoured to said inner rim or felly; whereby relative movement etween the rims or follies in. axial direction" is'prevent'ed, substantially as described.

1% In-a vehicle-Wheel of the class deseribed, the combination with the inner and outer rims or fellies, of coiled springs arranged. between said rims or fe1lies,' guideto one of said'riins or fellies, the other of said rims or ie lies having suitable guides engaging said bars, said guides being of slightlygreater dimension cireumferentially than said bars, substantially as described.

'- JAMES HAINES DRAKE.

Witnesses .FRED GERLAOH,

LILLIAN PRENTIGEY. 

